CSU quarterback Conner Smith after loss at Wyoming: Colorado State University quarterback Conner Smith talks to the media after a 45-31 loss Saturday at Wyoming. (Video by Kelly Lyell/The Coloradoan).

Yet the redshirt freshman was pulled from the game at the start of the second half by coach Jim McElwain and forced to watch from the sidelines as sophomore Garrett Grayson returned to the field for the first time since breaking his left collarbone in a Sept. 29 loss at Air Force.

It wasn’t punishment, McElwain said. It simply made sense at the time, both to see what Grayson could do after a five-week layoff and to give Smith a chance to see what Wyoming’s defense was doing from a different perspective.

Grayson, Colorado State University’s starting quarterback for the first five games of the season, completed just 3 of 9 passes for 61 yards with one interception and also was part of a fumbled exchange on a handoff to Donnell Alexander.

Smith returned for the fourth quarter and led the Rams to two late touchdowns, throwing a 31-yard TD pass to tight end Kivon Cartwright at the end of a seven-play, 77-yard scoring drive and hitting Charles Lovett with a 65-yard pass to set up a 3-yard touchdown run by Joe Brown that capped a five-play, 82-yard drive.

“It actually helped me a lot,” Smith said of his time on the sidelines. “I missed a few things coverage-wise. It helped me a lot to see it from a different perspective. I really saw what the coaches were talking about. I feel like I got it, and I did all right when I got back in.”

Smith completed 13 of 23 passes, including a bizarre 75-yard touchdown pass to Thomas Coffman on the Rams’ first offensive play. Smith’s pass to Cartwright bounced off the tight end and a Wyoming receiver, before flying high into the air at the Wyoming 40-yard line, where Coffman hauled it in and raced untouched to the end zone.

“The way that play worked out was obviously not how it was supposed to be, but it worked out for us,” Coffman said. “We’ve got guys hustling around in the right places, and the ball just fell in the right place.”

McElwain said he’ll let Smith and Grayson compete for the starting job during practices this week and play whichever one “is going to give us the best opportunity to get a win” when the Rams (2-7, 1-4 Mountain West Conference) face UNLV (2-8, 2-3) in a home game next Saturday.

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“Coach wanted to give me a chance (Saturday), and I didn’t play my best,” Grayson said. “… I do want to play next week, and I want to play the rest of the year, but it’s really who plays better during the week.”

ALEXANDER RUNS WILD — Donnell Alexander provided CSU’s offense with its second 100-yard rushing game of the season, and second in two weeks, by running for 114 yards and one touchdown on 20 carries in his first start since the third week of the season.

Alexander hadn’t played at all in three of the past five games because of a left-ankle sprain.

“Honestly, the linemen made it so easy to go out there and do my job,” Alexander said. “They opened up the holes; they were big, so it was just easy for me to run through. … Once they got it going, there’s no telling how many yards each running back can go out and get.”

Junior Chris Nwoke had CSU’s first 100-yard rushing game of the season a week earlier, gaining 115 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries, in a win over Hawaii. But he also fumbled twice, drawing the ire of McElwain, and didn’t play at all Saturday.

Alexander became the first CSU freshman to run for 100 yards in a game since Jaime Blake gained 170 in a 1995 game against Hawaii.

LONG WAIT — CSU kicker Jared Roberts attempted and made his first field goal since a Sept. 22 loss to Utah State with a 30-yarder midway through the third quarter that cut the Wyoming lead to 28-17. Roberts has made 6 of 7 field goals this season.

TANYI STEPS UP — Senior defensive lineman Lanston Tanyi had 10 tackles, including five solo stops, to reach double figures in tackles for the second game in a row and the fourth time this season. Tanyi’s 70 tackles this season are the most by a CSU defensive lineman since Clark Haggans had 87 in 1999.

CAPTAINS — Linebacker James Skelton, defensive lineman Zach Tiedgen and tackle Joe Caprioglio — all seniors — served as CSU’s team captains for the game, along with Cartwright, a sophomore.

BORDER WAR — Wyoming retained the Bronze Boot by winning the Border War for the fourth year in a row and improved to 24-21 in the series since the traveling trophy was established in 1968. CSU leads the overall series 54-44-5, not counting a forfeit win in an 1899 game that Wyoming includes in its records.

NEXT UP — CSU is home this Saturday for a 5 p.m. game against UNLV, a 35-7 winner Saturday over New Mexico. Wyoming (2-7, 1-4) travels to New Mexico (4-6, 1-4) for a 1:30 p.m. game.